Maya Tyler, wife and mother of two boys, writes paranormal romance with a twist. Her debut novella Dream Hunter was released in December 2014. Her second novel A Vampire’s Tale released on March 22, 2017. She’s a romantic and believes in happily-ever-after. Being an author is her lifelong dream. She enjoys reading, music (alternative rock, especially from the 90’s), yoga, movies and TV, and spending her free time writing and blogging at Maya’s Musings.
Interview
1. Tell us a little about yourself?
Married with two young sons, I spend most of my time focused on family. We have a lot of fun together, reading, watching superhero movies, playing board games and Lego, and taking nature hikes. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, writing, going to rock concerts and live theatre. I wish I was a better cook, but I enjoy baking. I also enjoy my morning coffee…and my afternoon coffee… and a sweet or two or three.
2. Tell us something about how you write? i.e. are you a plotter or a pantser? Do you have any weird or necessary writing habits or rituals?
I am a total pantser. Every other facet of my life is so organized and scheduled, as much as a family with young children can be. I write sporadically. I don’t plot. When a story idea pops into my head, the characters emerge as well and I follow their lead. In the past I have tried to outline, but it felt forced and stalled my creativity. so I ended up abandoning the idea.
3. Could you tell us a bit about your most recent book?
A Vampire’s Tale is a full-length paranormal romance novel. The heroine Marisa Clements is a struggling author. She writes genre fiction – paranormal romance novels about vampires – to pay her bills. But she doesn’t believe in vampires. The hero Corgan Halton is an ancient vampire with a finite mission. He wants to tell the world his story and then end his unnatural existence. He sees Marisa playing an important role in his future and selects her to author his tale. Corgan’s presence places Marisa in danger from his enemies cascading them into a journey filled with danger, venomous vampires, and a wizard or two.
4. What was the hardest part of writing your book?
I find the most difficulty in revising my work. At the editing stage, my editor recommended I omit several scenes involving insignificant, secondary characters. I took her advice, but deleting these scenes resulted in revisions in a number of other scenes which referenced those characters. Any revision is difficult because you are invested in your work. Rewriting, essentially, a portion of A Vampire’s Tale was very time-consuming and emotionally draining for me. I was very pleased with the end result which was a definite improvement to the previous version.
5. What is your favorite writing tip or quote?
I enjoy reading the #writetip posts on Twitter. As writers, we are adept observers of life. There is much wisdom and insight to be found in simple observations like the one below.
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” – Maya Angelou
Author Links:
Website: http://www.mayatylerauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MayaTylerAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mayatylerauthor
A Vampire’s Tale
The best laid plans…
Marisa Clements was never satisfied writing the ‘gossip column’ in the local paper so she quit her job to follow her dream of writing fiction. Floundering in an unforgiving industry, she wrote about vampires, a popular subject she considered fascinating but as real as unicorns, to pay the rent.
Corgan Halton was tired of human misconceptions about vampires. He planned on telling Marisa his story and end his existence. It was no coincidence Corgan selected Marisa to write his story. With the ability to see the future, he knew she would be a major part of it. He knew she would be the one to help him die, but in doing so, she’d be doomed to the same fate. Once they met, their futures would be irrevocably intertwined.
Corgan began caring for Marisa and finally revealed the truth to her. He admitted his quest to atone for his past sins had put her in grave danger from a nest of revenge-seeking vampires. Corgan must claim her for her own protection. But claiming her is not enough, he must ask for help from his wizard friends and his maker in order to destroy his enemy or Marisa will never be safe.
Excerpt
He didn’t have a name yet, but he had a face. A dark, mysterious face with a century’s worth of secrets. Secrets he would tell her, only her, if she would listen.
Marisa took a deep, calming breath. “I’m listening.” She closed her eyes, waiting. A cool breeze shifted her hair and her eyes popped open. The old floorboards creaked, and she spun her chair around. “Who’s there?” The candle blew out. “What the—”
Time—and her heartbeat—stood still. Paranoia set in, the consequence of writing too many vampire stories. She must’ve left a window open. Or something. She re-lit the candle and turned her attention back to her laptop, staring at the last words she’d typed.
Corgan Halton.
She didn’t remember typing that.
“Corgan Halton.” She said the name slowly. “I like that.” She’d written a dozen vampire stories and this would be her best name yet. It had an old-worldly feel to it. Like a real name. She’d
better look it up to make sure it wasn’t a real name; she didn’t need a lawsuit. Did people sue for name infringement?
“Okay, Corgan Halton. Are you real?” She typed the name into a search engine.
“As real as you are.” The distinctive male voice resonated in the otherwise quiet room.
Marisa froze. She didn’t dare turn around. It was her overactive imagination at play. There was no one there. She hoped. Maybe one of her friends? Is this a joke?
“Not a joke, Marisa.”
Gasping, she stood and spun around toward the sound of his voice.
As he stepped out of the shadows, she took in the man before her. Pale with black, curly hair, dressed in an impeccable suit. Dark and intimidating, he stood in her living room, shrinking
the already small space.
Exactly as she’d imagined. She conjured him from her imagination? No… This is not happening
Giveaway
The Quest Continues To Stop A Killer “Curse!”
Ellis has always loved staging adventures in her head before going to sleep each night. When she was twelve, she started putting these adventures on paper.
the desperate queen forges a risky alliance with the ruthless and cunning Mage Corey. Determined to defend her son’s claim to the throne of the Mage King, Eolyn prepares for her last and greatest battle, this time against her own sisters in magic.
where she is part of the biology faculty at Avila University. An ecologist by vocation, Karin has wandered forests and wildlands all her life. Her pastimes include camping, hiking, music, and flamenco dance. In addition to THE SILVER WEB trilogy, Karin has published short stories in World Jumping, Zahir, Adventures for the Average Woman, and 69 Flavors of Paranoia. She is a recipient of the Spring 2011 Andrews Forest Writer’s Residency.
When Sean Frazier was growing up, he never really paid attention to the written word. It wasn’t necessarily something he enjoyed at the time. Once he graduated college, however, the spark ignited and he decided to write something and try to get it published.
Exiled from his homeland, Cor’il Silvermoon was left to roam without direction. Bestowed with unimaginable power by the awakening Threads, he struggles to understand his purpose.
Badass Woman #1– I was born in 1967 and grew up in the 70s and 80s, so I wasn’t exactly inundated with strong, powerful female role models on Television. But Linda Carter as Wonder Woman comes on to the scene in 1975 and gave me a different view of women. She may hide her identity in that of a secretary, but she’s an Amazonian princess. In the Amazon, the women rule, and they never bow to male authority. Wonder Woman undoes her hair and twirls around, and she is a superhero with a magical golden lasso and bracelets which can deflect bullets. She fights with superhuman strength and ability and never needs to be rescued. As the theme song stated, “All the world is waiting for you, and the power you possess.” Wonder Woman taught me that women can be strong.
Badass Woman #5: Karrin Murphy from Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files. I loved Karrin Murphy from the moment I first met her racing Dresden to the door so that he won’t open it for her. I hate men opening the door for me. Not only does she stand up for herself as a woman, but she’s intelligent and completely badass. She can handle any weapon and hold her own in a fight. She’s loyal, and Butcher resists turning her into Dresden’s girl friend. She will only have men on her own terms.
Although I couldn’t have articulated it at such a young age, the book taught me to indulge my imagination. Max is sent to his room, but rather than pouting or being bored, he has a forest grow around him until it completely overtakes the space. He gets on a boat and voyages to land of beasts with scaly legs, horns on their noses, and rooster beaks. With these creatures, he instigates a “wild rumpus” that begins with stomping and chanting under the moonlight and continues with swinging from trees in the light of day. To me, Max and the Wild Things’ wild rumpus seemed the pinnacle of excitement. Sendak’s book showed me that the imagination is a wonderful place where the strangest and most delightful things can happen at any moment and in any place.
The book also nurtured the belief that this flight into the unknown is nothing for a girl to fear because she can return to normality whenever she pleases. When Max tires of the wild rumpus, he gets on his boat and sail back to his own room where his supper, a symbol of his mother’s love, is waiting for him. I learned that we can travel to the farthest reaches of the world and back again before our supper gets cold.
